Breeding dangerous species of snakes. Snakes: breeding Snake breeding as a business

In 1985, in the Chinese village of Zhishikao, a local disabled person, Yang Hongchang, began breeding snakes, first for self-medication, and then for sale - for pharmaceutical companies and restaurants. Gradually, the whole village became interested in this business, and today a third of its residents are millionaires, and Zhishikao has become the world center for raising snakes with a population of 4 million reptiles.

Yang Hongchang was a typical peasant in China in the early 1980s: a small plot of land, an average monthly income of 100 yuan, $16. At the same time, he fell ill with ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic disease of the joints with a predominant localization of the process in the sacrum and spine. China is not the First World - even today there is almost no free healthcare and pensions, and 30 years ago - even more so.

Hongchang, 62, realized that he would either starve to death, unable to farm the land, or die of illness. From a local doctor, he learned that an extract from a certain type of snake could save him, in fact it was special kind legless lizard. But it cost 3 months of Hongchang's salary. Then the old man went to the mountains, caught several reptiles and himself made an extract from them, a tincture of alcohol.

A two-month course of taking snake extract made Honchang functional. Then he thought, why not start breeding snakes, since they are so expensive and there is a steady demand for them. In 1985, he took out a bank loan of 10,000 yuan against the security of his land.

With this money, he bought equipment - incubators, in which the process of maturation of snake eggs could take place. Serpent different types(from vipers to those same legless lizards) he caught himself for breeding. The first incubation experiments were unsuccessful. Only in 1987 did he manage to debug the process, and the first 30 thousand snakes were born. After a little growing, he sold them in bulk for 80 thousand yuan.

The news of this success spread throughout the village of Hongchang, and after 5 years, out of 162 of its yards, 108 contained snakes.

Small factories for their processing immediately appeared: snakes are dried, vodka is made on their basis, snake venom ointments, etc., a significant proportion are “fodder” reptiles that go to Chinese catering. 80% of products are consumed within China, the rest in the USA, Japan and Germany. Feed factories also appeared, where mice and frogs are bred, which make up the main diet of snakes.

In the village of Zhishikao, 4 million snakes are grown (up to 30 species: cobras, vipers, pythons, etc.), at least 20 families earn from 1 million yuan per year or more (150 thousand dollars), the rest - in on average 50-60 thousand yuan.

In general, the village has an annual income of 60 million yuan (about 9 million dollars) from raising snakes.

Over the past 5 years, both the reptile population and the village's income have grown by 50% annually.

Honchang himself earned his first million in 1990, and he turned his business into the Moganshan Snake Co. brand.

In 2008, his company expanded beyond China, establishing a snake farm with an area of ​​10 thousand square meters. m in South Korea.

But in France, snake farms are going through hard times.

For example, in the town of Velance, a company that keeps snakes for their poison saw sales decline by 20% in 2011, to 1.6 million euros per year.

There is something wrong with your knowledge of the laws and how they actually work. What tax are we talking about? From the point of view of Belarusian legislation, spiders and snakes are not pets at all. They are not treated in veterinary clinics, they are not given health certificates, they are not vaccinated, they are not registered with the housing and communal services department, since they do not need to be walked, no one cares about them at all. To obtain the certificates that are shown in the article, you still need to try and know where to go. (Surely the snakes were purchased from Prokhorchikov, they have contacts the right people, where they make the necessary papers) Well, this is not yet developed here, and here you are still trying to download your rights. Yes, all the controls will send you to hell so that they are not burdened with unnecessary trifle work.

And yes, for 9 years I was engaged in keeping tarantula spiders and my own self-study in the field of araneology. Not because it’s “oh fashionably cool”, but because these animals are really interesting. Now it’s true that I’m not in Belarus at all and I had to sell all the spiders, so there’s one less “keeper” in Minsk.
However, there are many of us. More than you can imagine. But if snakes can really go for a walk with their neighbors, then you don’t have to be afraid of tarantulas; most species are not adapted to life in Minsk apartments and die within a couple of weeks. And they won’t go for a walk anywhere, they hide under the sofa and sit there.

And as for poisonous snakes, I don’t know how it is in Belarus, but in Russia quite a lot of people keep poisonous snakes in their apartments. Particularly successful people live in private houses and do the right thing.
By the way, they are not bred for milking poison, if anything, in the CIS countries this has not happened to anyone. They breed and keep them because they like them. Well, of course, there are those who just want to be the owner of a cobra, saying it’s cool. Where would we be without such individuals... It’s strange that there have been no deaths yet) There were bites, but at most they lost fingers))

In general, if you dropped a fry, you would understand that it is absolutely new world. A world that has existed next to you for decades, but since it is a quiet hobby, it has no publicity.
And I just advise you to somehow go in and talk with people who are actively involved in keeping snakes. Overcome your fear and try to look at the situation from the other side. Believe me, on verification, everything turns out to be not so scary and many stereotypes are smashed to smithereens.

Good evening.
I did not want to unsubscribe more in this topic, but out of respect for your answer, I can not answer.
In principle, everything is clear with this topic.
The onliner promoted the business, the onliner is satisfied, the entrepreneur is satisfied 60k views - everyone is happy. We figured it out.
On business, the fry dug, superficially (I could be wrong, but as a friend said for a rare color from one and a half meters to 1.5k killed raccoons) - if these snakes are of a rare color, then probably Andrey could make a kopeck piece for his family and the child could have his own room. .. but business is business, as they say, money has no smell.
And yes, it really is the whole world, the good news is that the exotic is not only snakes and spiders, but the whole world, from a snail to... a raccoon :). And you are wrong in thinking that I personally have a fear of reptiles... this is not fear, but indifference, because I can say for sure - holding a snake in my hands I didn’t experience anything... well, akin to being watered with a hose at the dacha, but hugging a malamute you experience a wide variety of feelings :).. even squeezing a rat in my hands I got more tactile sensations. .. in short, reptiles are not my thing.
It’s also clear about keeping animals at home - do you want the whole house to be afraid of your apartment? I think no, in any person there is a deep fear, acquired a long time ago.
I read the forums, in 2013 there was a fashion for iguanas - as a result, a Minsk businessman almost lost his arm from a “gift”. Or in Canada, a keeper who was bitten by his favorite female spider, and who was found by rescuers because the neighbors could not stand the smell of a corpse (the living creatures that were free at that moment fed on it for a long time) it would seem a horror story - but no (... And the topic can be continued forever... it’s like dog walkers vs cyclists or walkers in parks.
I dug, unfortunately I didn’t like the world. I respect this world and, in principle, I won’t go into it again.
I voiced my opinion earlier.
You wished me to see the world of reptiles - I wish you to get a dog... it can pull your bike :) and you can also put your feet on it when you write something online... warm and soft.
Nothing personal, I apologize if I offended you in any way.

Breeding is lethal dangerous species snake. Why and who needs it? Continuation of the “thinking out loud” theme. Or who you definitely should never have at home.

Let's first figure out who falls into these “deadly” criteria. Not everything is as simple as it might seem. For example, green mambas (Dendrospis jemsoni, D. viridis) have a very powerful poison that can kill a person in a few hours, but if kept correctly, contact with them and the risks are minimal. Snakes are always visible and do not have monstrous sizes to reach you in any plane, which cannot be said, for example, about the black and narrow-headed mamba. Major representatives genus Bitis. Their bites will almost certainly be fatal to humans (especially Gaboon vipers and rhinoceros), but with proper manipulation, direct contact can be avoided. Snakes are thick and short, which does not allow them, say, to escape from you behind a closet. This is such a puffed up evil lump of hatred on the floor that you can always move with a shovel. The main thing is to be able and know how. In the same vein we can say about large Crotalus. So not all species that have truly terrible poison should definitely rattle off your funeral march. If you approach it with knowledge, meaning and a real goal, then maintaining such types is possible, although I never recommend it to anyone, which I have already written about several times.

So, this was a preface to limit the series common sense questions at the end. I want to write here about the “super” deadly species that a simple keeper cannot handle, not only alone, but often even with several pairs of hands. These are taipans, black mambas, black-and-white and ringed cobras. Why are we talking about them? They have a lot in common.

1. Extremely hot-tempered and capricious character. There are a lot of photographs and videos on the Internet with these species on hand, but believe me, not everything is so simple.

2. Very large size and strong body - all these species are capable of reaching 3 meters, which makes any manipulation with them almost impossible.

3. Speed ​​- adders are stalking predators, and therefore their sharp attacks and instant changes in the trajectory of movement can often be simply elusive. When such a snake leaves the terrarium, things get very bad. Even professionals make mistakes, let alone those whose experience is much less.

4. The desire to crawl upward. This is a very dangerous skill of these reptiles. They can easily be thrown over the hook in any direction, plus they can end up anywhere when escaping. Cabinets, cornices, shelves, storage rooms, etc. - these species can use ventilation and go outside the apartment, which, in fact, can lead to quite tragic things.

5. Almost 24/7 activity! The snake feels very calm and confident both in the light and in the dark.

6. Of course, the power of poison. A bite from any of the above groups will most likely be your last.

So here are 6 criteria that make these species super dangerous animals. By and large, keep them except in special. Laboratories or zoos are simply not allowed! They need a lot of space good equipment and means of manipulation and, most importantly, the high professionalism of the people who will work with them.

That's why many people hesitate to breed these animals - their answer is obvious. For what? What to do with a brood of 30 mambas or taipans? In zoos around the world, as a rule, there are such animals and they don’t need any more! Keep it for yourself? It doesn't make much sense either. Risk every day for 10 snakes, or 50. There is a difference! Only private owners remain. Who are they, these private traders? There are, no, in reality there are a handful of people who can afford to own a black mamba and work freely with it, without exposing others and themselves to risks (well, at a minimum). But, I repeat, there are only a few of them! Sometimes they cheat them out.

So, here, as you understand, the moral and ethical side of the issue arises more than ever. It's one thing to sell Indian cobra or keffiyeh (also not a great achievement, but at least there is a sales market in which there are quite a lot of responsible breeders). Selling a black mamba is another matter. A simple question: to whom and why? The prices for them cannot be said to be very cool, and no one will take their own death, and even at three times the price, however, of course, there are plenty of smart people everywhere. That’s why I was always amazed by the price of small-scaled taipans (from 800 to 1500 euros!), However, the most interesting are those poor fellows who take them at their own peril and risk. Kids always seem funny, cool and don’t make you panic. But asps grow quickly and become uncontrollable just as quickly. And their size and habits very soon begin to make themselves felt. Be reasonable. Don’t go to the most extremes and the tic of a very extreme hobby.

Breeding snakes

In the countries of the former USSR, there have been isolated deaths among people bitten by snakes, mainly in Central Asia. In this case, a tragic outcome usually occurs due to untimely or incorrect assistance to those bitten. In the United States, snakes kill up to 160 people annually, although about 8 thousand people are bitten by venomous snakes, mostly when trying to catch or kill a snake.

The most effective and efficient treatment for snake bites is the administration of anti-snake serum. This remedy was discovered at the end of the last century, and to produce such serums, the Butantan Institute was founded in Sao Paulo (Brazil) in 1899. Now it is largest center on the study of poisonous snakes, on the use of snake venoms. From all over Brazil, many residents voluntarily send here annually about 12.5 thousand snakes (mainly cascavela and jararaka), from which they receive up to 5-6 liters of poison per year (1-1.5 kg in dry weight).

Venom is taken from snakes once every 2-3 weeks. From small snakes 20-40 mg of venom is obtained (in dry weight), and from large snakes - 500-900 mg per dose. The traditional way of “milking” snakes is mechanical, by massaging the venom glands. However, taking the poison using electric current ("electromilking") is considered the most effective. To do this, the mucous membrane of the mouth is touched with electrodes with a voltage of 5-8 V, which causes a rapid and complete release of the poison.

Serums are prepared from the blood of horses immunized with increasing doses of snake venom. These serums come in two varieties: monovalent - against the bite of a specific type of snake - and polyvalent - against the bites of various species. Timely and correct administration of the serum quickly relieves the symptoms of poisoning. In addition, blood transfusions have an excellent effect when bitten by viper and pit snakes.

Snake venom is a complex mixture of proteins that have the properties of enzymes and enzymatic poisons. When dried, it retains its poisonous properties for decades. Snake venoms have long attracted scientists as a source medicines However, only in recent decades have important advances been achieved in this direction. Hemostatic drugs - lebetox (in former USSR) and Stephen (in the UK). The main active component, cobra toxin, has been isolated from cobra venom, which has an analgesic and calming effect in case of spasms of heart vessels, bronchial asthma, malignant tumors. In addition, snake venoms are used in the diagnosis of diseases and in various laboratory studies.

As poisons began to be used very widely, the need for them increased sharply. To obtain poison, serpentariums have been created in many countries around the world, where snakes caught in the wild are kept in enclosures or cages and poison is periodically taken from them. The lifespan of snakes in such serpentariums is usually short, and the population of snakes has to be constantly replenished with new specimens caught in the wild. In many tropical countries this is not a particular problem, and serpentariums exist due to the constant exploitation of the resources of venomous snakes in nature.

The main types of snakes used in our serpentariums are viper, cobra, common and steppe viper, less - sand faff. Due to Natural resources poisonous snakes are limited, and some poisonous snakes are included in the Red Book, scientists and serpentarium workers are faced with the acute problem of preserving and carefully using populations of poisonous snakes. Much has already been done in this direction. By optimizing housing conditions, it was possible to significantly extend the lifespan of snakes in captivity. All this makes it possible now to preserve the main population of snakes in serpentariums for a long time and gradually reduce the volume of catching snakes from the wild.

However, the most promising way to preserve natural populations of venomous snakes is to transform serpentariums into snake nurseries. Snake nurseries are serpentariums of the future, where snakes will not only be kept in optimal conditions, but also reproduce, and their offspring will be raised to adulthood. Then the need to remove snakes from nature will completely disappear, and economic exploitation will move to the level of “snake farming.” Such prospects are quite real, since on an experimental scale, herpetologists have already succeeded in successfully breeding some species of venomous snakes and raising their young in captivity.

Successful breeding of snakes in captivity has great importance both for species used by humans and for those species that are on the verge of extinction in nature and are listed in the IUCN Red List or national Red Lists. In such cases, if a species becomes extinct in the wild, captive-breeding populations of that species can serve as a life-saving reserve fund for the subsequent restoration of that species in the wild. Captive breeding of endangered species remains the only reliable guarantee of their conservation.